After His Father
by kazumigirl
Summary: Written while I was very sleepy around one am. Silver meets a very defiant little boy on a tourist boat who quotes a familar saying.


Silver never thought possible that he'd start raiding and looting again

**After his Father**

Silver never thought possible that he'd start raiding and looting again. Well, of course, it was _logical_, but he still never imagined he'd do it again after his adventure on Treasure Planet. It had been ten years since that voyage, but Silver could recall every detail as if it had all happened yesterday. He and his current band of misfits had just finished raiding a small passenger ship. A tourist trap, really. Nobody had any idea how to handle the pirates, and even the so-called _security_ was at loss for a decent defense. Of course, the band of pirates didn't plan to hurt anybody. No, they would never do that. Not when the victims had no intentions of fighting back. However, things didn't always go as planned.. As Silver ordered for the various space creatures to load the loot onto their own longboats, something stabbed him right in his bionic leg, causing it to hiss and smoke. He stumbled around, cursing and swinging his bionic arm whichever which way, looking for the culprit. He finally spotted them, and he softened just a bit. It was a small boy, maybe two or three with jet black hair, somewhat dark complexion, and bright blue eyes. He glared up at the Cyborg, a fork in his hand.

"Go away!" He barked, raising the fork as if to strike again. "Weave us awone!" His babyish lisp was too much for Silver, as well as the uneven pitch in his voice that went up and down as he spoke. The Cyborg laughed as he knelt down, plucking the utensil from the little hand. The toddler jumped for it, but Silver only placed his normal hand to the child's forehead, examining the fork in his other, the bionic one.

"Well aren't you a tough guy," he chuckled. "Right in me leg with a fork of all things!"

"I'm not afwaid of you!" The boy pushed Silver's large hand away. "You made everybody scared! You made my teacher cry!" He pointed to a young alien woman tucked away in a corner clinging onto several other alien children.

"Johnny!" The teacher sniffled. "C'mere, baby! Please, don't fight with them." She timidly, and shakily coaxed him with her hand. "C'mon, Johnny."

Johnny, however, stared back at Silver, as if testing the older man's courage. Silver rolled his eyes playfully and patted the boy's shoulders. He leaned in close, and lowered his voice, as if to tell a secret. "Listen here, Lad. I speak from me heart when I say I didn't want yer teacher to cry, honest! So you be a brave cadet and go comfort her and yer classmates. We'll be getting' off this boat in a jif."

The toddler shook his head, to Silver's surprise. For a child, he certainly was determined. He took off running, and as Silver followed him with his eyes, he noticed the boy throw himself onto one of the chests filled with stolen goods. He turned to the pirate captain and yelled, "This is our stuff! You're not taking it!"

The other pirates groaned and one of them started to pull him off, but Silver raised his hand, signaling him to stop. He sauntered over to the boy and said, "Well shiver me timbers! I've never seen such a fighter! Who taught ye to be so brave? I commend them."

"My daddy says to stick to whatever you do," Johnny replied, still holding onto the chest possessively. "No matter the squalls."

Silver crossed his eyes and pursed his lips. Didn't he once say that? He pondered this for a moment, and as if a light bulb came over his head, he stared at the boy in a whole new light. Those blue eyes were familiar. Too familiar. He scratched his head and asked, "Who did ye say yer pap was again?"

"My daddy's a captain! A nice one! He'll put you in jail when I tell him what you did on my fieldtwip!" Johnny spat.

"But what is yer _daddy's_ name, lad?" Silver tugged the back of the boy's shirt, pulling him off of the chest. "Tom? Frank? Bill?"

"Capn'!" One of the pirates called frantically. "We've got trouble!"

In the distance, a police ship was coming up on the tourist boat fast. The pirates hurriedly continued to fill the long boats, but not before several space officers ransacked the ship, yanking out guns and laser cuffs. The chief officer, jumped out, and when his boots hit the deck of the ship, little Johnny beamed from ear to ear and yelled, "Daddy!"

He struggled out of Silver's grasp and ran into the man's open arms. Silver smiled, despite his raid a failure. The boots became pants and the pants became a uniformed shirt, and the shirt became a face, an older, but familiar face. The face of Jim Hawkins. The little boy kissed his father and turned to Silver. "Now you're in for it!" He warned.

"Tourist boats are a little too easy, don't you think?" The boy's father asked Silver, his eyes smiling for his mouth.

Silver laughed. "Tis a fine lad you got there, Jimbo."

" 'Jimbo'?" One of the other officers asked, cocking an eyebrow, obviously intrigued and amused. The other officers eyes met their captain as if they were magnets and he was the North Pole.

Jim ignored his fellow officers and instead, stared down at the messy mop of raven hair that belonged to his son. He then looked back up at Silver and said, "He's a handful, that's for sure."

"Hello?!" One of the passengers cried out angrily from behind a crate. "You are a police officer, aren't you?! Maybe you could stop chatting with the person you're supposed to be arresting for just a minute and help us!"

The other passengers angrily chimed in and Jim looked at Silver, frowning. His eyes, however, smiled. "Arrest them," he ordered.

--

"Only a small fine?" Silver laughed as he signed the paper just outside the holding cell. "Lad, yer too much."

Jim only took the paper back and handed it off to a nearby guard. Little Johnny stared at the cyborg solemnly from his nook in his father's free arm. The laser bars were disengaged and the large adventurer stepped out.

"So, when'd ya become a pater familias?" He asked, reaching out to touch the toddler with his real hand.

"DON'T." Johnny pushed it away and Jim bounced him slightly.

"I met this girl in the academy and we got married a few weeks after I graduated," he explained. "If you're not in a hurry, why don't you swing by the old Inn?"

"What kind of humble chum would I be if I didn't?" Silver laughed and gave the young man a hearty pat on the back.

--

The bell above the door sounded and several, "Welcome to the Benbow Inn!"s rang out. Hustling about carrying trays of food was BEN, cracking jokes and making guests chuckle. Sarah answered phone calls and wrote things down on a notepad, a big smile plastered on her face, which was younger than her hair that was now dusted with strands of silver. Silver's eyes finally fell on an even younger woman, petite with golden skin and black hair fastened in a sloppy ponytail. She flashed a dazzling smile and darted over to the trio. Little Johnny smiled and exclaimed, "Mama!"

"Hello, my darling!" His mother laughed, her voice small, but strong. It also held a slight rasp. She kissed the little boy several times and then kissed Jim as well. After greeting her boys, she then turned to Silver and her smile faded.

"Daisy, I'd like you to meet John Silver," Jim beamed modestly. "Silver, my wife, Daisy."

"This is him?" Daisy asked, her smile returning. "_This _is Silver?"

"Please to make your acquaintance, Misses." Silver bowed slightly and kissed her hand as she held out to shake. When he stood up straight, he said, "I take it the lad's mentioned me."

"It's an honor," Daisy told him, shaking her head slightly. "I never thought I'd have the pleasure of meeting you." She bounced Johnny. "Isn't that right, Bo Jangles?"

"So." Silver looked around. "I take it yer mother's inn is now in the family business?"

"Nah." Jim waved his hand. "We do live here; we had an addition added on to the back." He sighed and jammed his hands in his pockets. "You, uh, wanna go grab a drink?"

"Oh." Silver winced. "I feel so old."

"Old?" Jim cocked an eyebrow, beginning to smile. "You?"

"Before we parted ways, you were only a sprout-definitely not old enough to buy a drink."

"Well, it's been eight years," Jim reminded him. "I'm definitely not a sprout anymore."

--

As they sat at the bar, mugs before them, Silver said, "I'm proud of you, Jimbo." He tapped his fingers against the thick glass. "You have a beautiful family."

Jim's eyes lowered modestly and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, his nose squishing up a bit. "I just hope I can be a good husband and father, you know? It scares me because sometimes I have to be gone months at a time, and I don't want to miss a thing." He leaned back on his stool. "I named him after my father."

"No kiddin'?" Silver scoffed. "So I guess you made amends?"

"I haven't heard from that bastard since I was twelve," Jim snorted slightly. He took a sip of his beer and stared into the mug. "I named him after my _real_ father." His eyes met the Cyborgs'. "The man thought saw greatness in me when no one else did, and believed I could make something of myself." He pushed the mug away. "You know?"

"I'm flattered, Jim." Silver smiled. "It means a lot to me because, well, now that you're a man it's probably 'bit easier to understand, I always thought of you as me boy." He shifted himself so he was almost facing him. "I know it sounds strange, but I'd pass through yer little town often, sometimes even the Inn, just to make sure you hadn't gone astray." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I even saw your graduatin' the academy."

"What?" Jim raised his eyebrows. "You did?"

"You stumbled getting' up to that podium," Silver chuckled. "But I'd never seen you so proud, and I'd never been so proud."

Jim ran a hand through his hair. "I actually kinda used to dream you'd be at my graduation."

"And Daisy?" Silver elbowed him playfully. "How'd you hook one like her? She's a beautiful lass!" His smile became more sincere. "And so's that boy of yours. Feisty too."

"He's just like his grandfather," The younger man teased back. "He's just like you."

--

"Thank you for t'what crawled out o' t' bung hole," Silver joked as he leaned back in his chair, wiping his mouth politely with his napkin. "Truly, Missus Hawkins, you be a marvelous cook."

"Thank you," Daisy smiled. "Jim always argues that he's the better cook." She rolled her eyes playfully at her husband. "You and your bonzabeast stew."

Silver looked over at Johnny who was sloppily eating his own dinner, making a mess. Jim reached over and cleaned the child up with a napkin. "There you go, Big guy."

"You know, John," Silver told the toddler. "I know we had a rough encounter this mornin', but I must say, I was shaking in me boots when you threatened me."

Johnny grinned sheepishly, not all of his baby teeth in, and said, "Daddy told me you're my gwampa."

"Well." Silver eyed Jim, and scooted his chair away from the table. "Yer pap's me son, so his son is me grandson." He stood up and so did Johnny. The little boy slid out of his chair and raced around to the other side of the table lifting up his arms so Silver could pick him up, which he did. "Which is _you_." He poked him in the stomach and tickled him.

"You wanna come wead my pirate book with me?" The toddler asked. "It's about pirates."

"Lead the way, Capn'," Silver replied, setting him down and following him into the den.

Daisy smiled at Jim. "Now I understand how you're such a good father," she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Not all the time," Jim replied, kissing her back. "But having him here, I really do feel proud of myself, of _us_." He chuckled and shook his head slightly. "I know you've heard this a million times, but when he told me I had the makings of greatness in me, I believed him. I really did." He kissed her again. "And those words just kept going through my head forever, you know? When I proposed to you, when I said 'I do' to you, when I held Johnny for the first time."

"When he walked through that door this afternoon," Daisy confessed. "I knew he was your father."

"Because of his bionic arm and leg?" Jim joked.

"No, Silly," she slapped his arm playfully. "Because of the way he looked at you." She brushed her fingers over his hand. "I recognized that look from your face when Johnny was born. So much pride and joy-he just glowed with it."

They were about to kiss once more when Johnny's squealing laughter echoed through the house followed by sound effects from his grandfather, and finally, "Jimbo! Bring that buxom beauty of yers in here and join yer family, lad!"

The End…


End file.
